MTV to debut Fandom Awards at Comic-Con, Linkin Park to headline

June 05, 2014 | 7:20 a.m.

Chester Bennington from the band Linkin Park performs at the 40th Anniversary American Music Awards in 2012. The band will headline the mtvU Fandom Awards at Comic-Con on July 24, 2014. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

Angie Rodriguez (dressed as Two Face from Batman) leads Jonathon Antone (dressed as Scarecrow from Batman) by a rope necklace in front of the San Diego Convention Center on the second full day of Comic-Con. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

MTV is heading to Comic-Con International in a big way, with a new awards show designed to honor fan favorite programming.

Set for July 24, the mtvU Fandom Awards will pay tribute to the best offerings in genre film and television from the past year, with musical act Linkin Park headlining the ceremony at San Diego’s Petco Park.

The awards will also celebrate fans themselves and will take place as part of a larger fete — the MTV Fan Fest, a free party at the stadium open to all Comic-Con badge holders.

An hour-long special with highlights from the evening will air on MTV and MtvU July 27, though no nominees or hosts have been announced.

The Linkin Park appearance comes as the hard-rocking pride of Agoura Hills, Calif., is gearing up to release its sixth studio album, “The Hunting Party,” on June 17. The band, which has long survived its once-faddish rap-rock roots, has embraced a harder, bleaker sound on its latest effort.

“The Hunting Party” is also stocked with intriguing cameos, including Helmet vocalist-guitarist Page Hamilton and System of a Down guitarist Daron Malakian. Rap old-schooler Rakim appears on “Guilty All the Same,” which you can listen to here:

If the band’s last album is any indication, “The Hunting Party” is likely to scale the charts. Linkin Park’s fifth studio album, “Living Things,” hit the No. 1 spot on the U.S. pop charts in 2012, selling 223,000 copies in its first seven days of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Comic-Con typically draws some 130,000 visitors, many decked out in their finest cosplay duds. Check out photos of costumed attendees from last year’s event in the gallery above.